Title: Response to Intervention: An Overview for WRSD Schools
1Response to Intervention An Overview for WRSD
Schools
2Recommendations from WRSD Elementary Principals
About Important Ideas to Include in Building RTI
Introduction
- RTIs goal is to improve student learning
- RTI will provide support to teachers, through a
collegial, team-based process and by giving them
successful strategies to use with struggling
students - RTI validates teachers good teaching methods
while providing more ideas - RTI encourages collaboration/communication across
teachers, other staff - RTI results in a consistent problem-solving
approach for struggling kids across classroom,
grade levels, and schools - RTI means making additional good teaching
strategies available to instructors - RTI means providing more resources to teachers to
support classroom interventions
3The quality of a school as a learning community
can be measured by how effectively it addresses
the needs of struggling students.--Wright
(2005)
Discussion Read the quote below
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Why?
Source Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five
interventions that work. NAESP Leadership
Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.
4Essential Elements of RTI (Fairbanks, Sugai,
Guardino, Lathrop, 2007)
- A continuum of evidence-based services available
to all students" that range from universal to
highly individualized intensive - Decision points to determine if students are
performing significantly below the level of their
peers in academic and social behavior domains" - Ongoing monitoring of student progress"
- Employment of more intensive or different
interventions when students do not improve in
response" to lesser interventions - Evaluation for special education services if
students do not respond to intervention
instruction"
Source Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S.,
Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention
Examining classroom behavior support in second
grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.
5What does RTI look like when applied to an
individual student?
- A widely accepted method for determining whether
a student has a Learning Disability under RTI is
the dual discrepancy model (Fuchs, 2003). - Discrepancy 1 The student is found to be
performing academically at a level significantly
below that of his or her typical peers
(discrepancy in initial skills or performance). - Discrepancy 2 Despite the implementation of one
or more well-designed, well-implemented
interventions tailored specifically for the
student, he or she fails to close the gap with
classmates (discrepancy in rate of learning
relative to peers).
6Target Student
Dual-Discrepancy RTI Model of Learning
Disability (Fuchs 2003)
7The steps of RTI for an individual case
- Under RTI, if a student is found to be
performing well below peers, the school will - Estimate the academic skill gap between the
student and typically-performing peers - Determine the likely reason(s) for the students
depressed academic performance - Select a scientifically-based intervention likely
to improve the student's academic functioning - Monitor academic progress frequently to evaluate
the impact of the intervention - If the student fails to respond to several
well-implemented interventions, consider a
referral to Special Education
8How can a school restructure to support RTI?
- The school can organize its intervention efforts
into 3 levels, or Tiers, that represent a
continuum of increasing intensity of support.
(Kovaleski, 2003 Vaughn, 2003). Tier I is the
lowest level of intervention and Tier III is the
most intensive intervention level.
Universal intervention Available to all
students Example Additional classroom literacy
instruction
Tier I
Individualized Intervention Students who need
additional support than peers are given
individual intervention plans. Example
Supplemental peer tutoring in reading to increase
reading fluency
Tier II
Intensive Intervention Students whose
intervention needs are greater than general
education can meet may be referred for more
intensive services. Example Special Education
Tier III
9Tier I Interventions
Tier I interventions are universalavailable to
all students. Teachers often deliver these
interventions in the classroom (e.g., providing
additional drill and practice in reading fluency
for students with limited decoding skills).
Tier I interventions are those strategies that
instructors are likely to put into place at the
first sign that a student is struggling. Tier I
interventions attempt to answer the question Are
routine classroom instructional modifications
sufficient to help the student to achieve
academic success?
10Key Questions About Implementing Classroom
Interventions
11Tier II Interventions
Tier II interventions are individualized,
tailored to the unique needs of struggling
learners. They are reserved for students with
significant skill gaps who have failed to respond
successfully to Tier I strategies. Tier II
interventions attempt to answer the question Can
an individualized intervention plan carried out
in a general-education setting bring the student
up to the academic level of his or her peers?
12Tier II Interventions
There are two different vehicles that schools can
use to deliver Tier II interventions Problem-solv
ing (Classroom-Based Intervention).
Individualized research-based interventions match
the profile of a particular students strengths
and limitations. The classroom teacher often has
a large role in carrying out these interventions.
A plus of the problem-solving approach is that
the intervention can be customized to the
students needs. However, developing intervention
plans for individual students can be
time-consuming.Standard-Protocol (Standalone
Intervention). Group intervention programs based
on scientifically valid instructional practices
(standard protocol) are created to address
frequent student referral concerns. These
services are provided outside of the classroom. A
middle school, for example, may set up a
structured math-tutoring program staffed by adult
volunteer tutors to provide assistance to
students with limited math skills. Students
referred for a Tier II math intervention would be
placed in this tutoring program. An advantage of
the standard-protocol approach is that it is
efficient and consistent large numbers of
students can be put into these group
interventions to receive a highly standardized
intervention. However, standard group
intervention protocols often cannot be
individualized easily to accommodate a specific
students unique needs.
13Tier III Interventions
Tier III interventions are the most intensive
academic supports available in a school and are
generally reserved for students with chronic and
severe academic delays or behavioral problems.
In many schools, Tier III interventions are
available only through special education. Tier
III supports try to answer the question, What
ongoing supports does this student require and in
what settings to achieve the greatest success
possible?
14Levels of Intervention Tier I, II, III
Tier I Universal100
Tier II Individualized10-15
Tier III Intensive5-10
15Secondary Students Unique Challenges
- Struggling learners in middle and high school
may - Have significant deficits in basic academic
skills - Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and
concepts - Present with issues of school motivation
- Show social/emotional concerns that interfere
with academics - Have difficulty with attendance
- Students at the secondary level are also
moving toward being self-managing learners
16Implementing Response to Intervention in Schools
Key Challenges to Changing a SystemJim
Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
17Making RTI Work in Your Schools Key Expectations
18Making RTI Work in Your Schools Key Expectations
- Teachers try a larger number of research-based
classroom strategies before referring a student
to the schools RTI Team. - Schools are able to find time and personnel
coverage to schedule RTI Team meetings. - The job descriptions of key people in a school
change to match the needs of RTI (e.g., school
psychologist, special education teacher). - The school recognizes that RTI is an umbrella
problemsolving approach that helps the district
to address a range of important school issues
such as low state test scores, deficient academic
skills, absenteeism, and drop-outs.
19Making RTI Work in Your Schools Key Expectations
(Cont.)
- Administrators show strong support for RTI, using
their influence to encourage teacher
follow-through with classroom interventions,
helping to rework job descriptions to match
RTIs needs, etc. - RTI is accepted by the school community as a
mainstream initiative, with the majority of
representatives on the RTI Steering Group drawn
from general education (e.g., Curriculum
Director). - RTI is given the resources that it needs to grow,
including funds for staff development and for the
purchase of assessment services or products and
intervention materials. - The district has a multi-year plan to implement
RTI that builds the model at an ambitious but
sustainable rate.
20Role of School Culture in the Acceptability of
Interventions
- school staffs are interested in
strategies that fit a group instructional and
management template intensive strategies
required by at-risk and poorly motivated students
are often viewed as cost ineffective. Treatments
and interventions that do not address the primary
mission of schooling are seen as a poor match to
school priorities and are likely to be rejected.
Thus, intervention and management approaches that
are universal in nature and that involve a
standard dosage that is easy to deliver (e.g.,
classwide social skills training) have a higher
likelihood of making it into routine or standard
school practice.
Source Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of
evidence-based interventions in schools Where
we've been, where we are, and where we need to
go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. pp.
400-401
21Barriers in Schools to Innovations in
Interventions
- Factors that have been identified as
barriers to acceptance and implementation by
educators of effective behavioral interventions
for at at-risk students include characteristics
of the host organization, practitioner behavior,
costs, lack of program readiness, the absence of
program champions and advocates within the host
organization, philosophical objections, lack of
fit between the program's key features and
organizational routines and operations, and weak
staff participation.
Source Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of
evidence-based interventions in schools Where
we've been, where we are, and where we need to
go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. p. 400
22Measuring the Intervention Footprint Issues of
Planning, Documentation, Follow-ThroughJim
Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
23Essential Elements of Any Academic or Behavioral
Intervention (Treatment) Strategy
- Method of delivery (Who or what delivers the
treatment?)Examples include teachers,
paraprofessionals, parents, volunteers,
computers. - Treatment component (What makes the intervention
effective?)Examples include activation of prior
knowledge to help the student to make meaningful
connections between known and new material
guide practice (e.g., Paired Reading) to increase
reading fluency periodic review of material to
aid student retention. As an example of a
research-based commercial program, Read Naturally
combines teacher modeling, repeated reading and
progress monitoring to remediate fluency
problems.
24Interventions, Accommodations Modifications
Sorting Them Out
- Interventions. An academic intervention is a
strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency
in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an
existing skill to new situations or settings.
An intervention is said to be research-based
when it has been demonstrated to be effective in
one or more articles published in peerreviewed
scientific journals. Interventions might be based
on commercial programs such as Read Naturally.
The school may also develop and implement an
intervention that is based on guidelines provided
in research articlessuch as Paired Reading
(Topping, 1987).
25Interventions, Accommodations Modifications
Sorting Them Out
- Accommodations. An accommodation is intended to
help the student to fully access the
general-education curriculum without changing the
instructional content. An accommodation for
students who are slow readers, for example, may
include having them supplement their silent
reading of a novel by listening to the book on
tape. An accommodation is intended to remove
barriers to learning while still expecting that
students will master the same instructional
content as their typical peers. Informal
accommodations may be used at the classroom level
or be incorporated into a more intensive,
individualized intervention plan.
26Interventions, Accommodations Modifications
Sorting Them Out
- Modifications. A modification changes the
expectations of what a student is expected to
know or dotypically by lowering the academic
expectations against which the student is to be
evaluated. Examples of modifications are
reducing the number of multiple-choice items in a
test from five to four or shortening a spelling
list. Under RTI, modifications are generally not
included in a students intervention plan,
because the working assumption is that the
student can be successful in the curriculum with
appropriate interventions and accommodations
alone.
27Evaluating the Quality of Intervention Research
The Research Continuum
28Intervention Research Continuum
- Evidence-Based Practices
- Includes practices for which original data have
been collected to determine the effectiveness of
the practice for students with disabilities. The
research utilizes scientifically based rigorous
research designs (i.e., randomized controlled
trials, regression discontinuity designs,
quasi-experiments, single subject, and
qualitative research).
Source The Access Center Research Continuum
(n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http//www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/d
ocuments/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
29Intervention Research Continuum
- Promising Practices
- Includes practices that were developed based on
theory or research, but for which an insufficient
amount of original data have been collected to
determine the effectiveness of the practices.
Practices in this category may have been studied,
but not using the most rigorous study designs.
Source The Access Center Research Continuum
(n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http//www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/d
ocuments/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
30Intervention Research Continuum
- Emerging Practices
- Includes practices that are not based on
research or theory and on which original data
have not been collected, but for which anecdotal
evidence and professional wisdom exists. These
include practices that practitioners have tried
and feel are effective and new practices or
programs that have not yet been researched.
Source The Access Center Research Continuum
(n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http//www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/d
ocuments/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf